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New La Ronge group home won’t open this year: Ministry

May 4, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The $250,000 announced in last month’s provincial budget for a new group home in La Ronge will be spent on organization and recruitment efforts.

“We felt it was important to make sure our northern residents, and for the community of La Ronge, that we had an investment up there,” Minister of Social Services Paul Merriman said. “This is for recruitment and onboard staffing to support the development of the group home. Once that is done, there will be funding in the next year’s budget.”

While it’s unclear who will be doing the planning for the facility, Merriman said he’s glad community members in La Ronge will be getting a new home in the future. It’s too early to say if that means the construction of a new building, but Merriman noted other communities across the province are currently opening, constructing or planning similar group homes.

In the next 12 months, Merriman said a plan will be created for the new home, which will house eight individuals with intellectual disabilities. Whoever develops the plan will also seek out the clients who are in most need of housing, Merriman said. The planners will also need to stay within the financial parameters the Ministry of Social Services has put in place.